Abstract

Introduction

Mycobacterium europaeum, a slow-growing nontuberculous mycobacteria belonging to the Mycobacterium simiae complex, was described after the seminal characterization of five isolates collected from three sputum specimens and a jaw gland biopsy in Italy, Greece and Sweden. Five respiratory tract isolates were further reported in Iran. Here, we report the first isolation of M. europaeum in France, in the respiratory tract of a patient co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis C virus.

Conclusions

We report the first isolation of M. europaeum in France, in the respiratory tract of a patient co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis C virus. M. europaeum warrants further attention in immunosuppressed patients with influenza, using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization/time-of-flight mass spectrometry and rpoB partial sequencing as tools for its accurate identification.

Keywords

HIVInfluenzaMALDI-TOF-MSMycobacterium europaeumrpoB

Introduction

Mycobacterium europaeum, a slow-growing nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) belonging to the Mycobacterium simiae complex, was described after the seminal characterization of five isolates collected from three sputum specimens and a jaw gland biopsy in Italy, Greece and Sweden [1]. Five respiratory tract isolates were further reported in Iran [2] from two different infected patients according to the American Thoracic Society/Infectious Diseases Society of America (ATS/IDSA criteria for NTM lung disease [3]. In fact, ATS/IDSA criteria for NTM lung infection combine clinical pulmonary criteria, new radiological opacities, and, positive culture results from several respiratory tract samples [3]. Here, we report the first isolation of M. europaeum in France, in the respiratory tract of a patient co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Here, one M. europaeum isolate was made from broth culture whereas the eight previous isolates have been made from agar or egg-based solid medium [1, 2], illustrating the capability of automatons routinely used in laboratories, to detect the growth of M. europaeum. Starting from colonies, this isolate was identified by MALDI-TOF-MS and its profile made freely available at Méditerranée Infection Foundation URMS Database [6] in order to complement the sole profile (M. europaeum DSM 45397T) commercially available.

Conclusions

M. europaeum has not been previously reported in France. Three of the five seminal strains have been isolated from sputum. Of interest, two Iranian patients [2] with a history of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and cystic fibrosis fulfilled the ATS/IDSA criteria for NTM pulmonary infection [3]. Here, clinical, radiological and microbiological findings classified this case as a colonized case [3]. As our understanding about the pathophysiology of M. europaeum lung infection is insufficient, there is not enough known to be sure that colonization is not in fact a slowly progressive infection. In addition, like other species of the M. simiae complex [7, 8], this new species could be clinically relevant when isolated in the respiratory tract of immunocompromised hosts. In fact, NTM should be investigated in the respiratory tract samples of immunocompromised patients because of a higher risk of lung infection that needs particular treatment [3]. Of interest, M. europaeum was here isolated in a patient with laboratory-confirmed influenza, a condition previously associated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection [9] through virus-induced interference in the interferon pathway [10]. Interactions between influenza and superinfecting mycobacteria, particularly NTM in the respiratory tract, warrant further attention to be elucidated.

Consent

Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and any accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal.

Notes

Michael Phelippeau, Marion Delord contributed equally to this work.

Declarations

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by URMITE, Marseille, France.

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Copyright

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